Category: Picture Book Reviews

REVIEW: Bear in a Bathrobe by Maddie Frost

REVIEW: Bear in a Bathrobe by Maddie Frost

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

When Bear’s friends invite him out to go ice skating, he always has an excuse. Bear is not a big fan of the outdoors – especially because he gets to wear his cozy bathrobe when he stays inside!

But Bear’s friends have special things that help them when they feel scared – a special scarf or a lucky hat. Maybe if Bear had a cozy special something he could feel brave enough to join his friends!

Review

This is super cute!! I fell in love with Maddie Frost’s illustrations when I read her Wombats series earlier this year. So I had to check out this picture book  – and it is gorgeous! I love her art style and the cute touches in her spreads. The liner papers in this are rows of coffee/cocoa mugs, and they are darling.

The story here is both funny and inspiring. It’s a friendship story while also being a story about being scared and trying something new anyway. And Bear’s ice skating adventure isn’t perfect. But he’s okay and able to roll with the ups and downs.

This would be a lot of fun to read aloud. And I think kids will want to get up close so they can pour over the artwork in this one. Don’t miss this darling winter story!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great! Might re-read

 

REVIEW: The Imposter by Laura Bower

REVIEW: The Imposter by Laura Bower

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Olive’s beloved Mr. Snuggles goes missing, and she is devastated. So of course, when she finds him again, she is relieved. But Mr. Snuggles is different somehow – cleaner, flufflier. . . .

It’s an imposter!!

Review

This was delightful! Everything works – the simple text, the familiar scenario, Olive’s reactions to every development in the Snuggles situation, the artwork. This would be a hoot to read aloud. Highly recommend!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ – Outstanding!

REVIEW: One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

REVIEW: One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

Three friends – a bear, a moose, and a beaver – prepare to celebrate Christmas when they realize they forgot to get a tree. Once they find a perfect pine, Bear won’t let them chop it down.

This is an adorable Christmas story that is part of the Life in the Wild series. There’s a small amount of text on each page, and fantastic illustrations that do some of the storytelling heavy-lifting. I enjoyed the humor in this, and the resolution makes this a fun read-aloud for Christmas. This was the first book in the series that I read, and I got such a kick out of it I ended up reading all of them. You can see some of my other reviews at the links above.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great! Might re-read

REVIEW: Little Ghost Makes a Friend by Maggie Edkins Willis

REVIEW: Little Ghost Makes a Friend by Maggie Edkins Willis

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Little Ghost has always wanted a friend, but he’s been worried he might scare people away. When someone new moves in next door, and she likes so many of the same things that he does, Little Ghost decides to be brave and invite her over for Halloween.

Review

This is such a sweet friendship story! The artwork is lovely, and the pastel fall colors add to the cozy vibe. And happily, Little Ghost and Anya hit it off right away. She also tells Little Ghost that she’s happy to be his friend exactly as he is – and her human friends agree. This is a super sweet read for the season – check this one out!

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good +

REVIEW: Mothman's Happy Cryptid Halloween by Andrew Shaffer

REVIEW: Mothman’s Happy Cryptid Halloween by Andrew Shaffer

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and 8th Circle in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

When Halloween gets rained out and everyone decides it’s “the Official Worstest Halloween Ever (in the Whole Entire Universe),”® Mothman and his cryptid friends make a plan to save Halloween.

This follow up to Mothman’s Merry Cryptid Christmas is a fun, quirky story with great artwork. I loved Mothman and Bigfoot especially – Mothman’s costume is a hoot! While the plan to save the day goes awry, there’s still a happy ending, thanks to gracious townspeople and a day off school. The backmatter includes a hilarious cryptid guide.

The next book will be Mothman’s Very Cryptid Valentine, which looks adorable!

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good +

REVIEW: Griselda Snook's Spectacular Books by Barry Timms

REVIEW: Griselda Snook’s Spectacular Books by Barry Timms

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Tiger Tales in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

Henry helps a bookstore owner on opening day and discovers a “just right” book for himself.

This is a book about the joys of books and bookstores set in a Halloween-ish town. Everyone is friendly, and in the end, the whole town is seen reading. The artwork is lovely – even better in the print version than it was in the electronic! The illustrations will draw kids in to look closely at the book and pour over every picture for the little details. This is would be a good addition to home libraries as well as other collections where you want books with a seasonal feel that are not scary or spooky.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

REVIEW: Is This a Tiger? by Elina Ellis

REVIEW: Is This a Tiger? by Elina Ellis

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kids Can Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

Alex (from Have You Seen an Elephant?) and Atticus set out to find a real tiger, while Alex uses her field guide to help.

This was such an informative book! I learned several things about tigers I didn’t know before – like their stripes are on their SKIN, they are nocturnal, and there are three species that have gone extinct.

This would be an excellent addition to classroom, public, and home library nonfiction collections. Fans of Alex’s first book should definitely pick up this great sequel. I could see a classroom project of making a field guide for an animal studies unit with these books as mentor texts. Brilliant! I can’t wait to see what Alex explores next.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Life in the Wild by Nicholas Oldland

REVIEW: Life in the Wild by Nicholas Oldland

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kids Can Press in exchange for an honest review. (I also read 5 of the stories in single-story form from the library.) All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

Six stories from the Life in the Wild series are collected here in one volume. You can read my reviews of two of them at the links provided.

Big Bear Hug (♥♥♥♥)

Make the Moose Out of Life – A reserved moose learns to embrace adventure and try new things when he gets shipwrecked. This was cute. I liked that Moose was driven by his own desires to change rather than being cajoled or shamed into being someone he is not. He recognizes his nervousness but also tries things until he finds activities he likes. (♥♥♥♥)

The Busy Beaver (♥♥♥♥½)

Up the Creek  – Three best friends who disagree a lot try to go on a canoe trip together. This is another fun and funny tale of these three friends. This includes some great examples of ways to learn to get along for the good of the outing. (♥♥♥♥)

Walk on the Wild Side – Three friends climbing a mountain discover it can be more fun to enjoy the journey rather than race to be the first one done. This is another cute story with a nice lesson. I love that none of these stories include shaming. There are just experiences and learning from them along with friends who decide to work at being better friends. (♥♥♥♥)

Hockey in the Wild – This is the one story I only read because I received the ARC of the collection. And for me, this was the weakest story in the set. It just didn’t click for me.

REVIEW: The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland

REVIEW: The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

A careless beaver finally sees the path of destruction he’s left in his wake and decides to make things right.

As I mentioned last week, I picked several of the Life is Wild books up at the library, including this one, before discovering they were going to be released in a single volume. My review for that will post next week, but for now I wanted to post about this story on its own because it is my favorite in the collection. The message here is fantastic! The illustrations are excellent and really help tell the story so there’s minimal text for young readers. This was delightful!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read

REVIEW: Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland

REVIEW: Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

A hug-giving bear who especially loves hugging trees encounters a man who plans to cut down one of the oldest trees in the forest.

This was a lovely story! I adored the illustrations of all of the critters and all the things Bear hugs. It’s a super sweet story – until Bear meets the man with the ax. I love how Bear acknowledges his anger but makes a different choice about his behavior than the reader might expect. This was lovely!

I picked this book up from the library based solely on the cover art. I love it. Turns out this one story is going to be part of a multi-book release later this fall – I’ll be reviewing the whole collection soon.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.